Photos of Lightwave Electronics Solid State Lasers

The LWE-122 is a diode pumped IR (1,064 nm) laser utilizing a monolithic
Non-Planar Ring Oscillator (NPRO). This and other Lightwave lasers are
extensively covered in
Sam's Laser FAQ, in the
chapter: Commercial Solid State
Lasers. Unlike the LWE-142 (below), most of the electronics
are in a seprate microprocessor-based controller and the laser
head only has a personality EEPROM and possibly photodiode preamp.
The laser head IS the optics box. The cover and connector PCB seals via
rubber O-rings.

Apparently, the LWE-122 never caught on as very few appear to have ever
been built. It was succeeded by the LWE-125/126, which is functionally
similar but with the controller built into the laser head (like the LWE-142).

Here are photos of an LWE-122 system and what's inside the laser head.

The LWE-142 is a diode pumped green (532 nm) laser utilizing a monolithic
Non-Planar Ring Oscillator (NPRO) with a resonant frequency doubler.
This and other Lightwave lasers are extensively covered in
Sam's Laser FAQ, in the
chapter: Commercial Solid State
Lasers.

Here are photos of what's in the optics box of an LWE-142
laser. This is a fairly late version with a serial number of 2,779 on
the bottom of the optics box, and 4,723 scribbled in Magic Marker on the
side. I do not know why they aren't the same. It is brand new but
probably failed final test and integration. When I installed this
optics box into a known working controller, there were sporadic flashes
of green light, but it was unable to lock properly. This was traced
to a weak crystal TEC. With the pump diode off, the crystal temperature
could be adjusted using the internal trim-pot. But with the pump beam
heating the NPRO crystal, the proper temperature could not be maintained
by the firmware. Therefore, the finely choreographed alogorithm that ramps
up temperature while monitoring output power had no chance of succeeding.

The LWE-246 is a diode pumped green (532 nm) laser utilizing a laser head
called the "Halfnote", apparently developed for the Alcon
OPHTHALAS™ 532 EYELITE ophthalmic laser. Is utilized a side-pumped
Nd:YAG rod in a rather overly complex and long (optics-wise) resonator.
Information and photos of this laser engine can be found at
LaserPointerForums Thread on Lightware Electronics
Halfnote Laser. It is speculated that LWE had an excess of these
lasers available after the Alcon contract terminated and the LWE-246 was
the result. :) The label on the heat-sink says "Alcon" and there is no label
on the laser head itself. This unit has serial number 0101 and I'll bet
you any number of flying pigs that they didn't produce 101 of these. ;-)
So, it may be a prototype. At the present time, there is no evidence
that any others were ever built. And, there are no laser safety stickers
anywhere to be found! So the LWE-246 couldn't have been a legitimate product.

This unit is a bit weak if it was supposed to be rated 2.5 watts. And
the 1.8 W shown on the meter was only achieved after realigning the KTP
doubler and HR mirror behind it, possibly masking an alignment problem
elsewhere. But so be it. There were two RMA stickers inside (which have
subsequently fallen off) indicating that it might not have been exactly
healthy, but it is not known whether any repairs were done. In any case,
to do a full alignment of the laser resonator consisting of five mirrors
and the KTP is not going to happen. :)

Sorry, no photos of the clothed laser - it has a boring beige cover
with ventilation slots on both sides. :-)